Swedish entry crowned European gold medal winner in the face of some very stiff competition
Last night, at the prestigious Café de Paris in London, the 9th annual ESA Excellence Awards took place. The ceremony saw a plethora of UK and international winners crowned across eighteen categories, including honouring the Best of Europe and the Sponsorship of the Year.
Organised by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), the Excellence Awards recognise the best campaigns across a multitude of disciplines, and all entries are assessed by an independent panel of expert judges.
One of the highlights of the evening was the awarding of the ESA Best of Europe award whereby 10 short-listed national winners, already recognised by their national sponsorship association or national award organiser, were independently judged against one another in order to be crowned as a European champion.
The winner of the 2015 Best of Europe award, and taking the ESA gold medal, was Sweden’s Tele2 Sweden for their World Class Arena campaign. In silver position was Serbian entry Frikom Basket Project for Basketball and, for the first time in this award’s history, the judges deemed two entries worthy recipients of the bronze medal. From Belgium, ING and Mons European Capital of Europe 2015 and from Germany, Mercedes-Benz with Bereit wie nie (ready as never before).
ESA would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees within this hard fought category. For a full shortlist of entrants, and for further details on the entered campaigns, please visit here.
Commenting on the win, Oscar Klingensjoe, Head of Sponsorship with Tele2 Sweden, said: “It’s amazing. To win the Best of Europe is a big thing. It’s the first time that a Swedish company has won gold and I think that winning is proof that we’ve been walking down the right path for the past three years that the arena has been open. It’s now up to us to challenge ourselves, and take the next step to further improve the arena experience”.
Karen Earl, Chairman of the European Sponsorship Association, said:
“On behalf of ESA I wish to congratulate all the nominees, and in particular the winners, across this very prestigious category. Already recognised at national level, and now at a European level, Tele2 Sweden can rightly be proud of what they have achieved. By working to a clear strategy, and through clever activation and engagement practices, they have helped push the boundaries, and re-define what is possible within our industry. They are worthy winners indeed.”
The annual Excellence Awards celebrate successful sponsorship campaigns in all sectors – sport, culture, entertainment, media, community and corporate responsibility – by assessing their business objectives and campaign results. The Awards are the only ones to recognise the best sponsorships across Europe and reward outstanding work achieved by sponsorship industry professionals. For the full list of winners, please visit here.
–ENDS–
For further information on the ESA Excellence Awards please contact:
Keef Sloan
keefsloan@sponsorship.org
+44 (0) 20 8390 3311
+44 (0) 07973 614302
About ESA
The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) exists to inspire, educate and raise standards within the sponsorship and wider marketing industry. As a membership association ESA’s vision is to encourage consumer engagement through effective multi-channel marketing. Its many activities, which include policy, governance and corporate responsibility, education and training, information, networking and the ESA Excellence Awards, all have these goals as their core objectives. ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, the arts and culture through to environment and the community. Its membership includes sponsors, rights holders, agencies, consultants, professional advisors and suppliers.